History

History: 1964

A lot of the players on the Browns' 1965 team said they thought it was better than the '64 squad when they met in 2004 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the latter club winning the NFL championship.

Indeed, the two teams are close - very close - when they're compared. It's just about a dead heat, in fact.

But the one main difference is that the 1964 squad won the league title. It did not fall short of its ultimate goal, unlike the '65 club, which lost to Green Bay 23-12 in the championship game.

Another difference between the two teams is that the 1964 club had some magic about it, whereas the one in '65 did not. And when you're splitting hairs between clubs, that counts for something. It really does.

What magic?

It's evidenced in the fact that the 1964 team, except for one time (a 28-19 road loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the next-to-last game that could have clinched the Eastern Conference crown), won the contests it had to win. And the Browns exorcised some demons in doing so.

They swept the season series from the arch rival New York Giants, the team that split with them the year before en route to edging out Cleveland by a game to win the Eastern crown. And both of the victories were convincing - 42-20 at Cleveland and 52-20 at New York in the regular-season finale to enable the Browns to earn the conference title. Those were just the fourth and fifth wins by the Browns over the Giants in 15 games dating all the way back to 1957.

The Browns put a 37-21 pasting on the Detroit Lions, whose 38-10 upset win in the next-to-last game of the 1963 season all but ruined Cleveland's chances of capturing the conference championship. It also represented the first regular-season triumph - and just the second victory of any kind - by the Browns over the Lions in 10 games dating to 1952.

Though the Pittsburgh Steelers were bad at the time, the Browns' 30-17 victory over them was significant as well. That because the Steelers had stunned the Browns 23-7 at Cleveland just three weeks before, with Pittsburgh's John Henry Johnson rushing for 200 yards, the most ever by an opponent against the Browns at the time.

Then, to cap off that memorable 1964 season, there was the 27-0 victory over the Baltimore Colts in the NFL title game. The Colts, after a 12-2 regular-season mark (much better than the Browns' 10-3-1 record), were double-digit favorites in the game and were stacked with players who would go on to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Plus they had throttled the Browns 36-14 at Cleveland two years earlier in the teams' last meeting. Many of the players from that game were still with their respective teams.

With all that stacked against them, then, nobody thought the Browns could win -- nobody, that is, except the Browns themselves.

Not only did the Browns triumph, they did so with an exclamation point on the end, totally dominating the game after a scoreless first half.

The Browns, who scored 415 points in the regular season, or an average of 26 per game, had an explosive, balanced offense. They could beat teams with the run - Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown was his usual super self, rushing for 1,446 yards and seven touchdowns, while Ernie Green added seven rushing scores. And they could beat teams with the pass - quarterback Frank Ryan threw for 25 TDs with 19 interceptions, rookie Paul Warfield had 52 catches and nine TDs, fellow wide receiver Gary Collins had eight scores among his 35 grabs, and Brown and Green combined for 61 receptions and six TDs.

The defense gave up some yards and points on the year, but it had ability and it made plays when it had to, as evidenced by the way it completely shut down - and shut out - the mighty Colts. In fact, even though Ryan's three TD passes to Collins stole the headlines, the biggest single play of the day was actually turned in by a defensive player, Galen Fiss.

With all of his teammates on the other side of the field after being completely fooled by a screen pass from Johnny Unitas to fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Lenny Moore in the first half, the outside linebacker knifed his way through several blockers to make the tackle. Otherwise, Moore would have easily sped for a 77-yard score, breaking the scoreless tie and possibly jump-starting Baltimore's high-powered offense.

As it was, that's the closest the Colts came to a TD all day. Unitas, Moore, Hall of Fame wide receiver Raymond Berry and the rest never got untracked.

So while the 1965 Browns team, in terms of talent, might have been better, the one in '64 had the better finish and earned its place in NFL history.

And that's what counts.

Steve King,Staff Writer

YEAR RESULTS

Preseason Results

National Football League: 4-1

at San Francisco 49ers (27,404) 7-26

at Los Angeles Rams (43,183) 56-31

Pittsburgh Steelers at Akron (27,255) 42-7

at Detroit Lions (36,946) 35-14

Green Bay Packers (83,736) 20-17

Regular Season Results

Regular Season

Playoffs

Combined Record

League

W

L

T

PCT

W

L

T

PCT

W

L

T

PCT

NFL

10

3

1

.769

1

0

0

1.000

11

3

1

.786

Postseason Results

NFL Championship Game

Date

Opponent

Result

Score

12/27

Baltimore Colts

Win

27-0

Date

Result

Opponent

Att.

9/13

W 27-13

at Washington Redskins

47,577

9/20

T 33-33

St. Louis Cardinals

76,954

9/27

W 28-20

at Philadelphia Eagles

60,671

10/4

W 27-6

Dallas Cowboys

72,062

10/10

L 7-23

Pittsburgh Steelers

80,530

10/18

W 20-16

at Dallas Cowboys

37,456

10/25

W 42-20

New York Giants

81,050

11/1

W 30-17

at Pittsburgh Steelers

49,568

11/8

W 34-24

Washington Redskins

76,385

11/15

W 37-21

Detroit Lions

83,064

11/22

L 21-28

at Green Bay Packers

48,065

11/29

W 38-24

Philadelphia Eagles

79,289

12/6

L 19-28

at St. Louis Cardinals

31,585

12/12

W 52-20

at New York Giants

63,007

NFL Championship

12/27

W 27-0

Baltimore Colts

79,544

Score By Periods

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

OT

Tot.

Browns

61

123

107

124

0

---

415

Opponents

57

85

69

82

0

---

293

Team Statistics

Browns

Opponent

Total First Downs

255

275

Rushing

119

119

Passing

118

137

Penalty

18

19

Total Net Yards

4,486

4,722

Avg. Per Game

320.4

337.3

Total Plays

807

894

Avg. Per Play

5.6

5.3

Net Yards Rushing

2,163

2,012

Avg. Per Game

154.5

143.7

Total Rushes

435

465

Net Yards Passing

2,323

2,710

Avg. Per Game

165.9

193.6

Sacked/Yards Lost

28/219

28/222

Gross Yards

2,542

2,932

Attempts/Completions

344/181

401/230

Completion Pct.

52.60%

57.40%

Had Intercepted

19

19

Punts/Avg.

49/41.9

57/39.7

Net Punting Avg.

49/38.1

57/34.4

Penalties/Yards Lost

60/611

64/643

Fumbles/Ball Lost

15/7

30/21

Touchdowns

50

36

Rushing

14

18

Passing

28

18

Returns

8

0

Scoring

Ru

Pa

St

Df

PAT

2Ru

2Pa

FG

Saf

TP

Groza, Lou

0

0

0

0

49/50

0

0

22/33

0

115

Green, Ernie

6

4

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

60

Brown, Jim

7

2

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

54

Warfield, Paul

0

9

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

54

Collins, Gary

0

8

0

0

0/0

0

0

0/0

0

48

Browns

14

28

4

4

49/50

0

0

22/33

0

415

Opponents

18

18

0

0

32/35

0

0

15/23

0

293

Rushing

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Brown, Jim

280

1,446

5.2

71

7

Green, Ernie

109

491

4.5

37t

6

Ryan, Frank

37

217

5.9

19

1

Kelly, Leroy

6

12

2

5

0

Scales, Charley

2

5

2.5

3

0

Browns

435

2,163

5

71

14

Opponents

465

2,012

4.3

45t

18

Receiving

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Warfield, Paul

52

920

17.7

62t

9

Brown, Jim

36

340

9.4

40t

2

Collins, Gary

35

544

15.5

43

8

Brewer, Johnny

25

338

13.5

41

3

Green, Ernie

25

283

11.3

32

4

Browns

181

2,542

14

62t

28

Opponents

230

2,932

12.7

92t

18

Interceptions

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Parrish, Bernie

4

98

24.5

54t

1

Beach, Walter

4

81

20.3

65t

1

Benz, Larry

4

67

16.8

45

0

Houston, Jim

2

86

43

44

1

Fichtner, Ross

2

67

33.5

64

0

Browns

19

444

23.4

65t

3

Opponents

19

154

8.1

27

0

Punting

No

Yds

Avg

In20

TB

LG

BLK

Collins, Gary

48

2,016

42

0

5

58

0

Franklin, Bobby

1

36

36

0

0

36

0

Browns

49

2,052

41.9

0

5

58

0

Opponents

57

2,265

39.7

0

5

60

1

Punt Returns

No

FC

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Kelly, Leroy

9

7

171

19

68t

1

Roberts, Walter

10

6

132

13.2

40

0

Williams, Sidney

1

0

0

0

0

0

Browns

20

13

303

15.1

68t

1

Opponents

20

8

183

9.1

53

0

Kickoff Returns

No

Yds

Avg

LG

TD

Roberts, Walter

24

661

27.5

60

0

Kelly, Leroy

24

582

24.3

45

0

Scales, Charley

5

75

15

24

0

Warfield, Paul

1

4

4

4

0

Franklin, Bobby

1

1

1

1

0

Browns

57

1,323

23.2

60

0

Opponents

75

1,517

20.2

49

0

Field Goals

1-19

20-29

30-39

40-49

50+

Tot

Passing

Att

Cmp

Yds

Pct

Av/At

TD

Td%

Int

Int%

LG

Tkld

Rating

Ryan, Frank

334

174

2,404

52.1

7.2

25

7.5

19

5.7

62t

27/207

76.7

Ninowski, Jim

9

6

125

66.7

13.89

2

22.2

0

0

41

1/12

149.3

Brown, Jim

1

1

13

100

13

1

100

0

0

13t

0/0

158.3

Browns

344

181

2,542

52.6

7.39

28

8.1

19

5.5

62t

28/219

80.8

Opponents

401

230

2,932

57.4

7.31

18

4.5

19

4.7

92t

28/222

75.6

java.lang.RuntimeException: Failed to get data //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:173)
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:139)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.property.DCRProperty.fetchDCRXML(DCRProperty.java:328)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.buildComponentTransformData(RuntimeComponent.java:247)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.transform(RuntimeComponent.java:281)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.renderNoCache(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:216)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.preRender(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:103)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenContainer.preRender(PageTokenContainer.java:260)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimePage.transform(RuntimePage.java:372)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreviewPage.getBaseTransform(PreviewPage.java:218)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreRenderedPage.transform(PreRenderedPage.java:145)
at com.interwoven.livesite.business.BusinessPageGenerator.generatePages(BusinessPageGenerator.java:410)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.PageConversionWebTask.convertPages(PageConversionWebTask.java:176)
at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor437.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractDispatchWebTask.handleExecution(AbstractDispatchWebTask.java:94)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractAjaxWebTask.execute(AbstractAjaxWebTask.java:72)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.action.CSWebTaskAction.execute(CSWebTaskAction.java:110)
at org.springframework.web.struts.DelegatingActionProxy.execute(DelegatingActionProxy.java:110)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionPerform(RequestProcessor.java:431)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:236)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1196)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:432)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:637)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.livesite.spring.hibernate.web.filter.OpenSessionsInViewFilter.doFilterInternal(OpenSessionsInViewFilter.java:108)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:75)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:183)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:138)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.impl.auth.AuthenticationFilter.doFilter(AuthenticationFilter.java:203)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.util.SetRequestEncodingFilter.doFilter(SetRequestEncodingFilter.java:106)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:128)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:286)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:845)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:583)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:447)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot read file: //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:153)
... 49 more

java.lang.RuntimeException: Failed to get data //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:173)
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:139)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.property.DCRProperty.fetchDCRXML(DCRProperty.java:328)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.buildComponentTransformData(RuntimeComponent.java:247)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimeComponent.transform(RuntimeComponent.java:281)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.renderNoCache(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:216)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenVariableComponent.preRender(PageTokenVariableComponent.java:103)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.page.PageTokenContainer.preRender(PageTokenContainer.java:260)
at com.interwoven.livesite.runtime.model.page.RuntimePage.transform(RuntimePage.java:372)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreviewPage.getBaseTransform(PreviewPage.java:218)
at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PreRenderedPage.transform(PreRenderedPage.java:145)
at com.interwoven.livesite.business.BusinessPageGenerator.generatePages(BusinessPageGenerator.java:410)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.PageConversionWebTask.convertPages(PageConversionWebTask.java:176)
at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor437.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractDispatchWebTask.handleExecution(AbstractDispatchWebTask.java:94)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.task.AbstractAjaxWebTask.execute(AbstractAjaxWebTask.java:72)
at com.interwoven.livesite.workflow.web.action.CSWebTaskAction.execute(CSWebTaskAction.java:110)
at org.springframework.web.struts.DelegatingActionProxy.execute(DelegatingActionProxy.java:110)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionPerform(RequestProcessor.java:431)
at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.process(RequestProcessor.java:236)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1196)
at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:432)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:637)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.livesite.spring.hibernate.web.filter.OpenSessionsInViewFilter.doFilterInternal(OpenSessionsInViewFilter.java:108)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:75)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:183)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:138)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.impl.auth.AuthenticationFilter.doFilter(AuthenticationFilter.java:203)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at com.interwoven.ui.base.util.SetRequestEncodingFilter.doFilter(SetRequestEncodingFilter.java:106)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:128)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:286)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:845)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:583)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:447)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot read file: //CSPRDCMS01-fe/default/main/NFL/CLUBS/BROWNS/WORKAREA/main/templatedata/Editorial/ADVERTISEMENT/data/ad_test
at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDal.read(CsFileDal.java:153)
... 49 more